Electrocardiographic findings and their association with mortality in the Copenhagen City Heart Study

In the Copenhagen City Heart Study 9348 men and 10 314 women,aged 20 or more, were examined. A resting 12 lead electrocardiogramwas recorded in each subject. The prevalence of all electrocardiographicsigns with the exception of axis deviation, high amplitude Rwave, minor T wave abnormality, prolonged and short P(Q)R intervalwas very low below the age of 40 in men and below the age of50 in women. Rates for Q-QS abnormalities, left axis deviation,ST depression and T wave abnormalities, premature beats, andatrial fibrillation increased with age, and the prevalence washigher for men than for women. In comparison with other Europeanstudies, the prevalence of major and minor electrocardiographicabnormalities of our study is high, similar to those found inFinland. We found a strong association between total mortality and majorST depression and T wave abnormalities in both sexes. A similarstrong correlation was observed between mortality and Q-QS andLBBB in men. In conclusion, the electrocardiogram has an extremely limitedvalue in population screening below the age of 50. The well-knowncorrelation between electrocardiographic signs and ischaemicheart disease mortality was confirmed by our data in relationto total mortality.